Surgical instrument for operations on the spinal column

ABSTRACT

A surgical kit for operations on the spinal column includes a surgical instrument having a handle body, the handle body having a substantially flat portion blended with the body, wherein the substantially flat portion is shaped to urge the gauze for draining a wound.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a surgical kit for operations on thespinal column. More particularly, the present invention relates to asurgical kit that allows exposing portions of spinal column on which forexample prostheses or screws are to be implanted subsequently.

BACKGROUND ART

As it is known, operations on the spinal column, particularly forimplanting prostheses, screws and the like, require parting the musclesfrom the spinal column by using a periosteal elevator, which enables asurgeon to cut a muscle closely in contact with the spinal column so asto be able to then part it completely from the column.

In this manner, the muscle bundles separately from the spinal column,enabling the surgeon to have free access to the spinal column in orderto implant fixation screws, prostheses and the like.

Currently, the technique for parting muscles from the spinal columnentails using a scalpel to cut the muscles at the region of contact ofthe muscles with the spinal column and the periosteal elevator toseparate the muscles from the bone.

This procedure is highly invasive, since parting of the muscles byresecting and parting it entails considerable bleeding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a surgical kit foroperations on the spinal column that enables the surgeon to part easilythe muscles from the spinal column while minimizing bleeding.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a surgical kitfor operations on the spinal column that enables the surgeon, with acombined action of his hands, to avoid the use of the periostealelevator, except in the initial step, for parting the muscles from thespinal column.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a surgical kitthat is highly reliable, relatively simple to provide and has acompetitive costs.

These objects and others which will become better apparent hereinafterare achieved by a surgical kit for operations on the spinal column,which includes at least one elongated gauze and one surgical instrument,said surgical instrument having a handle body, said handle body having asubstantially flat portion blended with said body, wherein saidsubstantially flat portion is so shaped to urge said gauze for draininga wound.

Advantageously, there is also provided a surgical method for operationson the spinal column that is based on the surgical kit describedhereinabove and that includes the following steps:

making a slit in the back of a patient proximate to the spinal column soas to divide a first muscle portion around the spinal column into a pairof separate side muscle portions; and detaching at least one of saidseparate side muscle portions from the spinal column, wherein saiddetaching includes a force-fitted insertion of at least one elongategauze member into said slit and compression of said gauze member betweenthe spinal column and said at least one of said side muscle portion suchto controllably detach an additional separate muscle portion of said atleast one of said side muscle portions from the spinal column.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will becomebetter apparent from the following detailed description of somepreferred but not exclusive embodiments of the surgical kit according tothe invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting examples in theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the a surgicalinstrument, which is a component of the surgical kit according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the surgical instrument of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a surgicalinstrument, which is a component of the surgical kit according to theinvention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a gauze member, which is a furthercomponent of the surgical kit according to the invention; and

FIG. 5 shows the operating sequence of use of the surgical kit accordingto the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the figures, the surgical kit according to the presentinvention includes a surgical instrument, generally designated by thereference numeral 1, which comprises a handle 2 constituted by aplate-like body that has a substantially curved or rectilinear shape andwhich ends at one end with a portion that has two curvilinear parts 3 a,3 b blending with the body portion, laterally thereto, and endingsubstantially with a flat portion 4 that blends the two curvilinearparts 3 a, 3 b.

In a side view, the end portion, generally designated by the referencenumeral 5, has a substantially wedge-like shape and tapers toward theportion that lies furthest from the handle 2.

Conveniently, the rectilinear portion 4 can have a set of teeth 6, asshown in FIG. 3.

The surgical instrument according to the invention is configured to beused to rotate gauzes 7 of a cylindrical shape, as shown in FIG. 4,which have different sizes and which are adapted to roll on the bone,thus parting and separating the overlying muscles “M” by pushing suchmuscles away from the spinal column “SC”.

In detail, the surgical instrument 1 enables a surgeon to insert thegauze 7, or any cylindrical support on which a gauze is rolled, pushingit within the slit created by a scalpel and/or a periosteal elevatorduring the resection of the muscles “M” of the spinal column “SC”, andto then push the gauze 7 downward, such to part the muscles “M” from theremaining part of the spinal column “SC”, acting directly with thesurgical instrument 1 and without the aid of the scalpel and/orperiosteal elevator.

In a method according to the invention, the surgeon, by acting with thesurgical instrument 1, pushes the gauze 7 downward, adjacently to thespinal column and between the column and the muscles to be parted, thusparting the remaining portion of muscles “M” that had not been partedbeforehand by the action of the scalpel.

This operation can be performed more easily by using two surgicalinstruments according to the invention simultaneously, one held in eachhand, and by performing a combined and alternating action of the twoinstruments, such to push the gauze 7 within the slit 8 created by thescalpel (FIG. 5).

The ability to insert the gauze 7 directly in the slit 8 created by theaction of the scalpel by means of a surgical instrument 1 according tothe invention enables a surgeon to part the muscles “M” from the boneand absorb most of the exiting blood due to the parting of the muscles“M” from the spinal column “SC”. At the same time hemostasis can beperformed by direct compression and by indirect action, thanks to thesubstances with which the gauze 7 can be impregnated, i.e., plateletgel, fibrin glue or other hemostatic substance.

In this manner, this step of the surgical operation is far easier toperform for the surgeon and substantially less invasive for the patient.

In practice, it has been found that the surgical instrument according tothe present invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects, sinceit allows parting of the muscles “M” from the spinal column “SC” byusing the scalpel only initially, subsequently resorting to a mechanicalaction of pushing the gauze 7 into the slit 8 created by the scalpel.

The novel surgical instrument 1 and the gauze 7 are susceptible ofnumerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scopeof the appended claims. All the features thereof may also be replacedwith other technically equivalent elements.

In practice, the materials used, as well as the contingent shapes anddimensions, may be any according to intended requirements and to thestate of the art.

1.-5. (canceled)
 6. A surgical kit for an operation on the human spinalcolumn comprising: an elongated gauze, and a surgical instrumentcomprising, a handle body, and a substantially flat portion blended withsaid body, wherein the substantially flat portion is so shaped to urgethe gauze to drain a wound.
 7. The surgical kit of claim 6, the saidsubstantially flat portion comprises a pair of curved portions shaped toblending with the body.
 8. The surgical kit of claim 6, wherein the bodycomprises a plate-like member with a substantially curved configuration.9. The surgical of claim 6, wherein the substantially flat portion has aplurality of teeth designed to engage by contact an outer surface of thegauze for pushing the gauze into the wound slit in the back of a patientalong the spinal column.
 10. The surgical kit of claim 6, wherein thesubstantially flat portion is substantially wedge-shaped incross-section.
 11. The surgical kit of claim 6, wherein the elongatedgauze is a cylindrical roll of gauze.
 12. A surgical method of operatingon the spinal column applying the surgical kit of claim 1, the methodcomprising the following steps: making a slit in the back of a patientproximate the spinal column such to divide a first muscle portion aroundthe spinal column into a pair of separate side muscle portions; anddetaching at least one of the separate side muscle portions from thespinal column, wherein detaching comprises force-fitted inserting atleast one elongate gauze member into the slit and compressing the gauzemember between the spinal column and the at least one of the side muscleportion such to controllably detach an additional separate muscleportion of the at least one of said side muscle portion from the spinalcolumn.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein force-fitted insertingcomprises: rotating the at least one elongated gauze member around itslongitudinal axis with the surgical instrument, and moving the elongategauze member in a direction diverging from the spinal column.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the surgical instrument comprises: a handlebody, and a substantially flat portion blended with the body, whereinthe substantially flat portion is shaped to urge the gauze to drain awound and has a plurality of teeth designed to engage by contact anouter surface of the gauze for pushing the gauze into a wound slit inthe back of a patient along the spinal column.